It’s the busiest time of year for major D-I commitments in the nation’s No. 1 hotspot for lacrosse, the NY/NJ/CT tristate region. Get caught up right here, right now.
Andrew McKenna got a taste of playing at a higher level this past spring.
The freshman made the varsity squad at 2013 New York state champion Ward Melville as a freshman.
“I believe it really helped me develop as a player and get a feel for what I need to do as a player,” McKenna said.
That seems certain now. Last week, he became the third WM defenseman to make a Division I commitment when he verballed to Navy, a decision first reported by Joe Lombardi on LaxLessons.com’s Lacrosse Insider premium coverage section.
The 6-foot, 155-pound McKenna is a strong position defender with good skills and a high lacrosse IQ.
Now, here’s a Q&A with Andrew on his commitment.
What were the main factors in your decision?
I picked Navy because it had a good lacrosse program that I feel I’m a good fit for, and also the great education it provides, and the opportunities it give you after you graduate.
What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
I only visited the Naval Academy, but I had interest from other schools like Cornell, Air Force, Lehigh and Binghamton.
What are your strengths as a player and how would you describe your style of play?
I believe my lacrosse IQ is my biggest strength as a player. I try to do the right thing when I have the ball in my stick. I also try my best to communicate with my teammates when the ball is in our defensive zone.
What area of your game do you need to work on?
I believe that I need to be more aggressive when my man has the ball and try to take it away or put some more pressure on him so he makes a bad play.
How did you get introduced to lacrosse and what other sports have you played?
When I was a child, I was always at lacrosse events for my dad or my two older brothers, so growing up watching them play made me want to play lacrosse.
What travel team do you play on what showcase events did you participate in?
After my freshman year on the Ward Melville varsity team, and for the summer I played on the Patriot Elite and Long Island Outlaws summer organizations. I was also in the Suffolk Top 20 game (Long Island Showcase), and the LI Lax Fest all-star game.
Any final thoughts?
I want to thank my family, mostly my mother and father for doing everything they did to get me to this point, if it was driving me to where ever i needed to go for lacrosse, or paying for me to play lacrosse and just supporting everything I do.
I also want to thank my high school coaches this year (Ward Melville Head) Coach (Jay) Negus and (Assistant) Coach (Chris) Muscarella for giving me the opportunity to play with the varsity squad this year.
I also want to thank my summer league coach, Mike Zerbo, for training with me and giving helpful pointers on how to bring my game to the next level.
I also want to thank Christian Mazzone, John Rowan, Mike Brennan and John Black for coaching me.
Finally, I want to thank all my coaches from the Three Village Youth Lacrosse Program (Dave Purdy, Brian McGinley, and my father Ray McKenna) for coaching me and giving me all the advice that i needed to become the player I am today.
Have a recruiting commitment to report? Send an email to info@laxlessons.com, contact Joe Lombardi directly at joe@laxlessons.com or send a Tweet to @Joe_Lombardi or @LaxLessons. Get in the Zone: The HS Zone High School Zone: Long Island High School Zone: Hudson Valley High School Zone: Connecticut High School Zone: New Jersey High School Zone: New York City High School Zone: Upstate New York High School Zone: New England High School Zone: Pennsylvania High School Zone: Maryland High School Zone: Canada High School Zone: Beyond the Northeast Recruiting coverage * Updated tristate recruiting commitment rundown for Class of 2014 * Updated tristate recruiting commitment rundown for Class of 2015 * Updated tristate recruiting commitment rundown for Class of 2016 * Updated tristate recruiting commitment rundown for Class of 2017 * Class of 2013 commitment rundown by high school/prep school * Recruiting commitment story archive
* 2012 National Letter of Intent Fall Signing Week story/photo archive Be a Lacrosse Insider
* Download for free the new LaxLessons’ playbook Android app in Google play. * Download for free the new LaxLessons’ playbook iPad/iPhone app in the iTunes store. * You can subscribe to LaxLessons.com’s playbook, featuring animated drills and plays for your team, by clicking here. Connect with us * Follow LaxLessons on Twitter by clicking here. * Become a Fan of LaxLessons on Facebook now by clicking here. Subscribe to our free newsletter Be sure to sign up for our free online newsletter. Just enter your email address on the “Receive Our Newsletter” link on the homepage of LaxLessons.com. 
Posted In: Long Island lacrosse, Recruiting Rundown, Section 11
